BALTIMORE PAINTED WINDOW SCREENS BY TOM LIPKA

I BEGAN PAINTING WINDOW SCREENS AT AGE 10 IN 1945. WHILE WATCHING ONE OF THE MANY ITINERANT SCREEN PAINTERS ( I BELEIVED WAS ALONZO PARKS) THAT FREQUENTED CANTON EVERY SUMMER AND HAVING A LITTLE ARTISTIC ABILITY,I FELT THAT I COULD PAINT WINDOW SCREENS AND EARN A LITTLE SPEND MONEY THAT WAS HARD TO COME BY. MY MOTHERI WHO WAS ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO KEEP ME OUT OF MISCHEIF GAVE ME TWO DOLLARS AND OFF I WENT TO THE LOCAL HARDWARE STORE FOR PAINTS AND BRUSHES. LIKE ALL OF THE SCREEN PAINTERS I FIRST PAINTED FOR FAMILY, THEN FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AND FINALLY CITY WIDE. I CONTINUED TO PAINT UNTIL 1954 WHEN MILITARY SERVICE CALLED. AFTER DISCHARGE FROM THE USAF IN 1958 I RETUNED TO BALTIMORE TO FIND SCREEN PAINTING HAD FALLEN ON HARD TIMES DUE TO THE NEW WINDOW AIR CONDITIONERS AND JALOUSIE TYPE WINDOW SCREENS AND DOORS WERE THE IN THING, RELATIVELY INEXPENSIVE AND AVAILABLE TO ALL. BUT SOME PAINTERS AS WELL AS MYSELF CONTINUED TO PAINT BUT CLIENTS WERE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. MANY OF THE OLDER GENERATION WERE PASSING AWAY AND THE RETURNED VETERANS VETERANS WERE BUSY WORKING, RAISING THEIR OWN FAMILIES AND MOVING TO THE COUNTIES TO NEW HOMES AND GENERALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS UNIQUE ART FORM SO PREVELENT IN THEIR YOUTH. HOWEVER THEY WOULD RETURN YEARS LATER WHEN PLESANT MEMORIES IN THEIR AGEING YEARS REMINDED THEM OF THEIR YOUTH. REGARDLESS OF THE LOW OR HIGH VOLUMES OF CUSTOMERS MAKING A LIVING PAINTING WINDOW SCREENS COULD NOT SUPPORT A FAMILY. I MARRIED IN 1959 WORKED FOR GLEN L. MARTIN AND WAS TRANSFERRED TO THEIR DENVER COLORADO TITAN MISSLE SITE. AGAIN RETURNING IN 1961 AND FIUND SCREEN PAINTING STILL DEPRESSED. HOWRVER RAISING THE KIDS, LITTLE LEAGUE DUTIES AND AN HONEST JOB LEFT ME VERY LITTLE TIME FOR PAINTING. SO FEW SCREENS WERE PAINTED OVER THE YEARS UNTIL 1980 WHEN A MINI REVIVAL BRGAN. THE REVIVAL CONTINUES TO THIS DAY AND SINCE MY RETIREMENT FROM MY REAL JOB FROM BALTIMORE CITY TRAFFIC ENGINEERING IN1995 MY PAINTING HAS BLOSSOMED TO ALMOST ANOTHER FULL TIME JOB. BUT ASSISTING MY WIFE RAMONA BABY SIT VARIOUS GRAND CHILDREN 2-3 YEARS OLD, PROVIDING TAXI SERVICE FOR THE OLDER ONES, CRABBING TRIPS IN BETWEEN AND TEACHING THE ART OF SCREEN PAINTING AT THE BALTIMORE COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE KEEP ME BUSY. WITH OVER 100 STUDENTS NATIONWIDE INCLUDING CANADA HELPING TO REVIVE, SPREAD AND GIVE SOME RECOGNITION TO THE ART MAKE IT ALL WORTH WHILE. A OLD SAYING IN BALTIMORE DURING THE LEAN YEARS " SCREEN PAINTING IS A DIEING ART" WAS NOT ENTIRELY TRUE, IT WAS THE SCREEN PAINTERS THAT WERE DIEING. THE CITY FATHERS IGNORED THOSE OF US IN THIS UNIQUE AND ORIGINAL BALTIMORE ART FORM AND FAVORED THE BULL WHIP, ELEPHANT DUNG AND PISS CHRIST TYPE ARTISTS. BUT I'M STILL HERE PAINTING AND TEACHING OTHERS. SOMEDAY BALTIMORE MAY AGAIN BE AN OUTDOOR MUSEUM AND NOT THE MURDER CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.